Click LIBERTY BELL
picture to read about the historic Religious Use of Marijuana case
NJWEEDMAN and Pat Duff have purposely created to
challenge the current "marijuana laws" that don't allow for the
RELIGIOUS USE.

IN
1857 The U.S. SUPREME COURT in the landmark DRED SCOTT VS
SANDFORD, 19 U.S. 393, 407, 15 L.ED. 691, decision said, "No whiteman was bound to respect the RIGHTS of a African".

Very little has changed in the last 150 years, strong willed
African-Americans still find they aren't protected by the "U.S. CONSTITUTION".

"NJWEEDMAN has limited CONSTITUTIONAL rights! State officials
have denied him the RIGHT(s) to a "FAIR TRIAL", refused to allow him to
present witness's, or a defense. (6th
Amendment) And blatantly have restricted his RIGHT TO: "freedom of
speech and freedom of religion".

State
officials constantly abuse NJWEEDMAN's
RIGHTS

THE TRENTONIAN
"Weedman seeks state senate seat

1/23/2007 TRENTON – Ed “njweedman” Forchion, self appointed
as “New Jersey’s most famous pothead”, is gearing up for another run at political
office, and he’s holding a party in the city tomorrow to raise money for
his campaign. And like everything he does, a party held by the WEEDMAN is
sure to attract attention – though not always the kind he’s like.

It’s going to be a peaceful gathering of potheads,” Forchion said of his
upcoming fund-raiser. He’s running for State Senate, following last years
bid for the U.S. Senate spot won by Bob Menendez. Forchion, who has seemingly
run for just about every elected position in the state at one time or another,
isn’t deluded enough to believe he’ll win.

But he’s committed enough to his one issue – the legalization of marijuana
– that he keeps running to stay in the public eye and to, um, spark debate.
his latest campaign, Forchion has come up with a novel fundraising technique,
something he’s calling a “4.20 Raffle”.

Potential donors to his cause cough up at least $4.20, and they’re entered
into the a drawing, where the winner receives an once of weed. His next drawing
will take place tomorrow at Championship Sports Bar and Grill in Chambersburg,
where he’s throwing a full-on bash to raise money for his cause.

Flyers for the party ask: “Do you think marijuana should be legal?” and say:
Come out of the Cannabis Closet and party with New Jersey’s most famous pothead.”
Admission to the party is $20, which includes one entry into the raffle.
Further tickets can also be purchased.

He’s got a line up of entertainment in store including spoken word performances
and comedy, along with a DJ and bands including one named Under Surveillance.
Forchion is just hoping that the bands name doesn’t turn out to be
prophetic, as he has already been warned that his party may be visited by
undercover police officers or members of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control.

“It’s not a smoke out,” he said. “It’s not a smoking party anyway. It’s a
political party.” Though an admitted pot smoker, Forchion said he’s not going
to have any on him at the party, and even the raffle winner’s prize won’t
be given out at the bar.

Forchion, a member of the Rastafarian religion, said it wouldn’t surprise
him if his event is being targeted, and said he’s been singled out in the
past. But he said he does feel thev treatment is unfair, adding that he’s
just trying to promote his political platform. “Do the police all show up
when a Democratic candidate or a Republican candidate has a fund-raiser?”
Forchion asked rhetorically.

But the Weedman said the possibility of a police presence isn’t getting him
down. “It’s not going to change my mind,” he said. “Marijuana isn’t the evil
drug the government says it is. It’s good. I’m not going to turn around and
say it’s bad because the government say’s so.”

THE TRENTONIAN

WEEDMAN off to HOLLYWOOD
Heading for greener pastures
NJweedman ready to bid farwell to N.J.

By JOE D’AQUILA
Staff Writer

BROWNS MILLS — And like a puff of smoke, he’s
gone — gone to California that is.

He’s Ed Forchion, aka the NJ Weedman, and the much maligned, often controversial,
repeatedly arrested activist and politician says New Jersey won’t have him
to kick around any more.
In an interview with The Trentonian from his home in Browns Mills, Forchion
said he’s headed west to seek out greener pastures and to work for a company
called High Ministries, a medical marijuana dispensary in Woodland Hills,
Calif.

For those unfamiliar with Forchion’s fortunes over the past few years — he’s
run for numerous public offices in the state including a run for the governor’s
seat in 2005, running under his own political party “The Legalization of
Marijuana Party.” The party’s number one issue — well, you get it.

Forchion is also a practicing rastafarian, a religion that views smoking
marijuana as a sacrament.

Once at his new gig, Forchion said he’ll be assigned to, what else, dispense
marijuana. “I will be selling marijuana legally,” Forchion said. California
has legalized the sale of medical marijuana, though the law has often been
challenged in federal courts and federal agents can arrest those engaged
in the buying, selling or possessing the drug there. But Forchion said
that he’s not too concerned about the legal ramifications out west and said
he wished his home state would have taken up his cause and changed its marijuana
laws. “This is the example that Jersey politicians should take,” he said.
The Weedman said he’s flying out today to start his new job and he’s bidding
his old home good riddance. “I’m just tired of living in a police state,”
he said of New Jersey.

He said the company he’ll work for in California knew of him from his website,
and said they weren’t worried about the controversy surrounding him,
but rather saw it as a possible benefit to their operation. “That’s going
to be a selling point with me at this place,” he said.

He said his wife and kids are going to stay behind in Jersey for a while
and if everything works out, they’ll probably all join him this summer. Forchion
said that at least for the time being, he won’t be gone for good. He said
he’ll have to come back for a pending court case in Trenton Municipal Court,
stemming from an altercation with a state trooper at the State House last
year.

“I will have to come back a couple times for my kangaroo court,” he said.
He said though that his new employer has helped set him up with an apartment
to help ease his transition, and said he’ll be making a very nice living
doing something he’s trained nearly his whole life for. “I’m going to be,
basically, the marijuana guru,” he said. So for Forchion, who also said he
hopes his move to Hollywood could start a new career in show business, it
seems his life has come full circle.

“What I’m doing is ironic,” he said. “Basically I became known and all this
started because I got busted selling weed. Now I’m going to California and
I’m going to do it legally.”

WATCH THIS VIDEO
NJWEEDMAN at work in LA Sellin Weed, legally!

'Someone tell the do-gooders
the world didn't end either'!

On Feb. 22, 2006 Judge Morley "formally" took all my visitation and custody
of my daughter. I was so mad I was fearing I would "kill him". This is the
real reason I had to get away. Imagine having your child taken from you because
you tell the truth about "marijuana". Here in America we have the RIGHt to
freely speak, except apparently in Burlington Family Court. Judge Morley
has committed a crime against me and my family but there is no-one I can
turn too. NORML only helps white potheads, the NAACP hates me because I'm
black/non-Christian and the U.S. Attorney here in New Jersey who is supposed
to protect the RIGHTS of all citizens had me arrested. ( U.S. ATTORNEY CHRISTIE is
a HYPOCRITE )

That’s
right Robert Edward "Weedman" Forchion, 41, of Pemberton, says he has
quit smoking pot and is headed for the straight and narrow.

"I am Weedlessman now," Forchion said in a telephone interview
yesterday. "And it doesn’t have anything to do with me changing my mind
on the substance, but I got a job I really like now."

Forchion says he has cut out his marijuana use since getting a job back
in May. At first he quit to take a drug test for the job, but then he
decided to just quit altogether.

"It’s been more than two months since I smoked (pot), but I had slowed
down before that," he said.

Forchion explained his wife and children played a big role in his
decision.

"A lot of this has to do with my family," Forchion said.

"Every time I get arrested my wife has to come bail me out. It’s been a
lot on my family."

Forchion, a Rastafarian by faith and a pro-marijuana legalization
activist, was fired from a job about this time last year after, he
says, his bosses mistakenly thought he took part in an anti-gay protest
against former Gov. Jim McGreevey outside the State House, and became
aware of his religious beliefs and political views.

Those that adhere to the teachings of the Rastafarian religion believe
that smoking marijuana is a sacrament similar to the Jewish and
Christian use of wine.

Although still very much a follower of the Rastafarian religion,
Forchion now says he is concerned about keeping the job he has come to
love with an understanding that arrests and other run-ins with the
judicial system all take a financial toll.

"I need to make money," Forchion said. "I’ve been poor for a long
time."

He says the turning point in his decision to quit smoking came after
his arrest at the State House by New Jersey State troopers after he
reportedly refused to leave the building when his request to go to
Press Row was denied.

Forchion was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting
arrest and defiant trespass. He is now in the midst of a legal battle
with the arresting State Police officer.

A few weeks later, Forchion had another run-in with police officers at
the Jersey Shore. He was distributing information on the boardwalk for
his Legalize Marijuana Party. An officer told him to move because the
boardwalk was not public property. Forchion said he disagreed, but
moved to a nearby street corner but police were not satisfied and
arrested him.

Forchion has made frequent runs for public office in the past, and now
has his sights set on another office. He wants to be governor of New
Jersey and admits that cutting out the marijuana use will help his
candidacy.

"How can I campaign if every time I go out the police are coming after
me," Forchion said. "I’m not going to take my name off the ballot, and
I’m still going to give the finger to the system."

Forchion says he will continue to push for his political views, but
will also remain concerned about his own safety.

"I know I’m right, but I don’t want to end up dead right," Forchion
said. "I’m afraid one of these cops is going to shoot me, and then
what? Oops.

"Most police officers understand free speech, but there are a few who
don’t. Those are the ones who worry me."

Forchion’s run-ins with the law have made headlines over the years.

In 1997, Forchion was arrested for possession of more than 40 pounds of
pot.

He served 17 months of a 10-year prison sentence and was released in
April 2002. He was thrown back in jail four months later after he
produced a pro-marijuana commercial but was released because a judge
determined the commercial was protected by his First Amendment rights.

In 2000, Forchion took his cause to the state’s General Assembly and
made a point by lighting up a joint inside the Assembly Chamber as the
legislative body was in session. He was never prosecuted.

"I think I’m pretty much done with it," Forchion said. "I’m not going
to give the police reason to arrest for no reason."

-- Charles Webster is the State House reporter for The Trentonian. He
can be reached at cwebster4@trentonian.com.

Burlington County
Superior Court Judge Dismisses NJWEEDMAN lawsuit, say's State is
immune, incident was a unfortunate administrative error! - I spent 5
months in jail says WEEDMAN and the State refuses to even pay me for my
lost wages!

This is
the case no media outlet will take about, not even HOWARD STERN
mentions this!

With the arrest record to prove
it NJWeedman.com, or Edward Forchion as he is known in the system is no
stranger to the police. He said he has been arrested more than 30
times, mostly for protesting.

Recently he said he was not allowed on press row
in the State House for the simple reason that it was not open to
the public. Forchion states that he was given no written information
that press row was being closed to the public. His website,
NJWeedman.com, explains in detail this and other similar experiences he
has undergone.

The website covers his ongoing
mission extensively. The main reason Forchion is running for governor
is to send a message to those that will hear him. "I am not that high
that I think I am going to win. I just want to give the finger to the
system and rally others who feel the same way.," Forchion said.

His proposed plan to tax
cannabis would help solve three big problems he foresees for NJ in the
next four years. Property taxes, a budget crisis, and a freedom crisis
which he thinks is approaching at an alarming rate are all major
concerns. "We are under the guise of fighting terrorism and drugs,"
Forchion said.

Forchion said he is qualified
to be governor because he has served the state. "I served in our
government's military and prison system. Now I want a leadership
position," Forchion said. Forchion said that the last several governors
of the state have not served well. "Christie Whitman was the worst,"
Forchion said.

Forchion said consolidating the
school districts in the state would lead to permanent property tax
relief for residents. "We don't need 180 (school) districts in New
Jersey," Forchion said. Forchion said legalizing marijuana would
produce a large tax for the state. "It would be in the billions,"
Forchion said. Forchion also said that limiting the terms of elected
officials to one or two, would end corruption, along with increasing
the size of the New Jersey attorney general's office. The website
NJWeedman.com can be accessed for detailed information by anyone
wishing to learn more about his opinions.

The website will also be offering a CD for sale by the end of this
month, according to Forchion. The CD features the
song NJWeedman Theme Song-Superhero to the Potheads which is about
voting for him, performed by The Infamous LOS band from Trenton.
Proceeds from the sale of the CD will be used to run his campaign for
office. This and the donations he receives from the website are his
only campaign fund sources. NJWeedman.com is a website with more than
500,000 hits overall in just two years. According to Forchion, people
from all walks of life are interested in his cause.

He is just doing what Bob
Marley said to in the song "Stand Up For Your Rights".
In his last run for a state office which was this past November "The US
Marijuana Party" got 7,000 votes in Burlington County. That was the
most for any 3rd party candidate on the card according to Forchion.
"Take a toke and vote for the weedman," Forchion said.

Trenton, NJ – (June 7, 2005 ) Some cheer, the others
jeer, but
nothing has changed for anyone on either side of the debate concerning
the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes in NEW JERSEY.

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed
what everyone has known all along – marijuana use violates federal law.

“It does just reconfirm the status quo,” said
David Evans, executive director of the Drug Free Schools Coalition.
“They didn’t overrule state law. You won’t get busted by state law
enforcement in places like California, but you can get busted by federal
authorities.”

The ruling does not strike down medical
marijuana laws already in place in ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, HAWAII, MAINE, MONTANA, NEVADA, OREGON, VERMONT or WASHINGTONSTATE. State and local authorities in most of
those states said they have no interest in arresting people who smoke
pot for medical reasons.

The ruling also does not prevent additional
states from allowing the use of medical marijuana in the future.

“They reaffirmed something we already knew,”
said Assemblyman REED GUSCIORA, D-Princeton, who has been working on
gettinglegislation to permit the use of
marijuana for medical reasons.

<>

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“I’m disappointed – especially
with the more centrist members of the court – who are making note that
it is up to TOM DELAY and the congress to rule on marijuana laws rather
than leave it to the state laboratories that Sandra day O’Conner speaks
of”.

Justice O’Conner said in dissenting with the
opinion that it was Congress’ place to clarify the issue, but that
states had a right to become the laboratories of medical marijuana use
if they choose to do so.

Supporters of total legalization of marijuana
use downplayed the Supreme Court opinion as more evidence of a activist court at work.

“The Supreme Court has issued a political
decision – it has nothing to do with law,” Ed “WEEDMAN” Forchion. “It
has nothing to do with marijuana. It’s a state rights case and all the
states just lost.”

Forchion argues that the state’s have a right
to determine for themselves what
constitutes a medicinal drug, and sides with the state’s that have
allowed the use of marijuana. He points out that statistics have shown
that state authorities prosecute 99 in 100 marijuana cases prosecuted
in the United States.

“Its not going to
matter to the vast majority of people who get busted,” Forchion said.
“It just doesn’t matter because it only affects a tiny number of
people. You probably can’t even find statistics showing how many

<>

people in New Jersey get busted by the federal government for
marijuana.”

Gusciora says that if New Jersey allows medical marijuana, state law
enforcement would not pursue medical users – that would be the job of
federal officials.

“We don’t want to make a criminal out of
someone who is terminally ill,” Gusciora
said. Evans argues that medical marijuana is not a proven treatment and
has not been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. He
says all medical marijuana does is provide a
excuse for people who want to get stoned under the guise of medical
treatment.

Supporters obviously disagree. “Marijuana
laws do more harm to society then marijuana does,” Forchion said. My
position is that marijuana should be legalized no matter what.”

June 6th, 2005NJWEEDMAN
turns in his petitions and successful gets placed on the November General
Election ballot as a candidate for the Office of the New Jersey
Governorship.

June 3rd, 2005 The
Courier Post Editorializes in favor of 'NJWEEDMAN'

Weedman
has right to speak

Friday,
June 3, 2005

Pemberton
Township resident Robert Edward Forchion, a perennial New Jersey
political candidate, has a message many people might not want to hear.
Forchion, who prefers the moniker NJ Weedman, advocates legalizing
marijuana use.

We
do not endorse using illegal drugs, but we do stand behind a person's
right to say he does.

Forchion
has an undeniable right to state his claim as long as he doesn't break
the law he's contesting. That right has been upheld by the court, but
it continues to lead to confrontations with authorities.

On
May 11, Forchion was arrested for trespassing at the State House in
Trenton. He had attempted to pass out campaign fliers in the press
offices at the state building. It is something he has done in the past.
It also was not an unusual request, as candidates and others seeking
the public's attention often visit the press offices.

But
when Forchion showed up wearing a campaign T-shirt with a message about
legalizing marijuana, a state police officer told him the press area
was off limits.

What
happened next will likely be settled in a court, where so many of
Forchion's collisions with authorities end. The only thing both sides
agree on is that Forchion was charged with defiant trespass, resisting
arrest and other offenses.

It
is unclear how a person can trespass in a public building during a time
when it is open to the public. It is equally difficult to understand
how Forchion can be denied access to an area in that public building
that is frequented by the public.

Forchion
might not appear to be the kind of person the First Amendment was
written to protect. His in-your-face push for legalizing marijuana juts
out from the American mainstream. But he is just the person for whom
the amendment's free-speech rights were written - someone expressing a
view the majority dislikes.

Silencing
people such as Forchion will, in the end, make it harder for anyone to
speak up. Silence, not the Forchions in America, poses a threat to our
way of life

Memorial Day May 31st, 2005NJWEEDMAN
ONCE AGAIN ACCOSTED BY POLICE
Seaside Heights Police don't respect NJWEEDMAN
right to Political Expression!

5/16/2005

Weedman busted - but not for
'that'

If there's an election afoot in the state of New Jersey, you
can be sure Ed Forchion wants in.

Last week, Forchion, a.k.a. NJWeedman, who advocates
legalizing marijuana, said he wants to be the state's next governor. On
Wednesday, the Weedman, who last ran against Rep. Jim Saxton on the
U.S. Marijuana Party ticket, went to the Statehouse in Trenton to hand
out campaign flyers on press row.

But state police said Forchion became "boisterous" when told
that flyers could not be distributed in the Statehouse.

When he refused to leave, Forchion was arrested and charged
with being a disorderly person, defiant trespassing, and resisting
arrest, said Sgt. Gerald Lewis, a state police spokesman.

(Question: How
does one "defiantly trespass" on state property?)

Weedman, a regular at the Statehouse, tells a slightly
different story. He said the trooper was a new guy who did not like the
candidate's pro-reefer T-shirt. Weedman said that when he defended the
shirt as protected free speech, he was cuffed and kicked.

Either way, back to jail Weedman went.
- Sam Wood

TIMES of TRENTON

NJ
Weedman faces trespassing charges

Thursday, May 12, 2005

TRENTON - Edward Forchion,
the Pemberton Township resident and marijuana proponent better known by
the self-ascribed moniker NJ Weedman, was arrested inside the State
House building yesterday afternoon on his way to tell news reporters
about his intention to run for governor, officials said.

Forchion, 40, of Browns
Mills, never got past the New Jersey State Police troopers who guard
the State House complex. Troopers arrested Forchion after he refused to
leave the building after being told press row was not open to the
public, state police spokesman Sgt. Gerald Lewis said.

He was charged with
resisting, defiant trespass and improper behavior.

Although the state police
say press row is not a publicly accessible area, State House-based
reporters say that members of the public routinely visit the area to
pitch stories.

Forchion's fight to legalize
marijuana on Rastafarian religious grounds has taken him to several
arenas in the past decade, from running for a number of political
offices, including Congress, to firing up marijuana joints in public.

In March 2000, Forchion
smoked marijuana in the State House's Assembly chambers during a
session and was arrested by state troopers.

Forchion was being held
last night on $40,000 bail at the Trenton Police Department lockup.

TRENTONIAN

NJ
Weedman arrested inside statehouse

Thursday, May 12, 2005

TRENTON – A self-proclaimedpro-legalization
marijuana activist known as NJWEEDMAN was arrested by New Jersey state police yesterday at
the statehouse after he refused to leave the building when his request
to go to the press area was denied.

“He actually came to the
front entrance, signed in and asked to be allowed to go to press row to
handout fliers,” Lewis said,

“Troopers told him that
the public is not allowed to access the area. The officers asked him if
they could call someone to come and meet him and he refused.”

Forchion became boisterous
and refused to leave, officials said.

Officers arrested him,
took him to headquarters, and processed him. He is presently being lockedup on $40,000 bail, according to family
members.

Forchion a Rastafarian by faith, is no stranger to run-ins with the law.

In 1997 he was convicted
of possessing more than 40 pounds of marijuana and served 17 months of
a 10 year prison sentence. Forchion did not return several phone calls
yesterday for comment.

BY ARTEMIS COUGHLAN

Monday May 10th, 2005NJWEEDMAN
again announces he plans on
running for the Office of the Governor
NJWEEDMAN and Junior on the streets of Trenton getting
signatures for his run for Governor! (This is protected activity)

NJWEEDMAN WIN'S
APPEAL!

THE TRENTONIAN

4/11/2005

Court upholds ‘Weedman’ DNA ruling

ARTEMIS COUGHLAN, Staff Writer

04/11/2005

CAMDEN -- An
appellate court Friday upheld the Superior Court of New Jersey’s
decision not to charge Robert Edward "Weedman" Forchion with refusing
to comply with an order to supply DNA samples to police.

Forchion, a frequent candidate
for office, a Rastafarian by faith and a pro-legalization marijuana
activist,said he was elated when he got the news Saturday.

"I am happy. Now I don’t have to supply a DNA sample," Forchion said.

In 1997 Forchion was convicted on possession of more than 40 pounds of
pot. He believes that smoking marijuana is a sacrament.

He served 17 months of a 10-year prison sentence and was released in
April 2002. He was thrown back in jail four months later after he
produced a pro-marijuana commercial but was released because a judge
determined the commercial was protected by his right of free speech.

After his release he was notified that he, as a convict, had to supply
authorities with a DNA sample, Forchion said yesterday.

The state, effective Sept. 22, 2003, required that everyone who has
served a sentence or other supervision as a result of a crime supply
DNA samples.

The appellate court agreed with Forchion’s argument that he didn’t
violate the Sept. 22, 2003 order by Judge Shirley A. Tolentino because
he wasn‘t ordered to appear at a certain time or place, according to
the April 8, 2004 decision.

The judge’s order "...stated you will be notified at a later date as to
a time and place where this sample will be taken," according to the
decision.

A separate memorandum dated Nov. 25, 2003 actually gave the notice for
Forchion to appear on Dec. 2, 2003 at the Camden County Hall of Justice.

"The defendant did not violate that order. ...Under these unique and
extraordinary circumstances, we must conclude that there was no clear
judicial order (Forchion) disobeyed and ...the indictment was
appropriately dismissed," the decision said.

Forchion refused to give a DNA sample and filed a suit in federal court
saying the requirement was unconstitutional.

"I learned that 2,000 other citizens have refused to comply with the
law," Forchion said.

TRENTON - An appeals court has upheld the dismissal of
criminal contempt charges against marijuana-legalization advocate Ed
Forchion for refusing to give the state a sample of his DNA.

"I don't think the government should have my DNA, or anyone's
DNA," Forchion said yesterday. "There was no way I was going to
voluntarily give it."

The state Attorney General's Office said yesterday it was
considering an appeal.

At issue is Forchion's opposition to a law that requires
criminals to provide DNA samples when they are sent to jail or
sentenced to probation. The law also required anyone in jail or on
probation at the time of its passage in September 2003 to submit DNA
samples to the state.

Forchion, who lives in Pemberton Township, was enrolled in the
state's probation-like Intensive Supervision Program on a 2000
marijuana-distribution conviction at the time.

Despite his outspoken defiance of the DNA-sample law, the
state discharged Forchion from supervision Dec. 3, 2003, without
forcing him to submit a sample.

A month later, a grand jury in Camden County indicted Forchion
on a charge of contempt for not complying with the law. The charge
carried a possible prison term of 18 months.

In response, Forchion challenged the indictment and the
DNA-sample law.

A Superior Court judge in Camden County dismissed the charges
in September after Forchion argued the court order did not specify a
certain time or place to provide the DNA sample.

The state Attorney General's Office appealed the decision, but
the appeals court ruled Friday it agreed with the decision by the judge
from the lower court. It further found that Forchion received a notice
from his program supervisor that he would not be sanctioned for
refusing to provide a DNA sample.

"Under these unique and extraordinary circumstances, we must
conclude that there was no clear judicial order defendant 'disobeyed'
(the law) and, therefore, that the indictment was appropriately
dismissed," the appeals court wrote.

JOINT DECISIONA
U.S. District Court Judge grants WEEDMAN a stay of sentence. For now.

1/18/2005

<>

by Cory
Frolik

While
he remains mired in legal troubles and no closer to seeing himself in
front of the U.S. Supreme Court to argue his " right" to smoke
marijuana, things don't look half bad for Ed Forchion. At least he can
toke up and test his interpretation of federal laws without the fear of
jail time.

Following
the Nov. 12 sentencing hearing where he received a year of probation
and a $150 fine for drug possession after organizing a series of
marijuana smoke-outs at the Liberty Bell, Forchion, aka NJ Weedman, was
worried. "Pencil me in jail," he said, predicting he wouldn't have much
luck passing court-ordered drug testing [News, "Up in Smoke," Cory Frolik,
Nov. 18, 2004].

Forchion's
argument was simple. Since he is Rastafarian, smoking marijuana is a
religious sacrament. As such, he was protected to do so on federal
property thanks to the 1993 Religious Freedom Act. The judge, however,
wasn't having it.

Less
than two months later, however, Forchion has seemingly caught a break.
His motion for a stay of sentence (a plea to the District Court to
throw out his punishment while he goes through the appeal process) was
granted by U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell earlier this month.

Forchion
authored the motion, which cites freedoms provided by the First
Amendment, attacks U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Arnold Rapoport (he
sentenced Forchion and co-defendant Patrick Duffy), and says he should
be exempt from drug testing altogether. In short, the charges and
probation conditions represent an unconstitutional religious
persecution, maintains Forchion.

"I'm
not creating something," explains Forchion. "I'm using what is already
there."

In
his Jan. 7 order, Dalzell wrote, "because staying Forchion's sentence
will not endanger the public or seriously undermine any important
public interest, the risk of irreparable injury to Forchion from being
subjected to potentially invalid restraints on his liberty requires us
to stay his sentence."

For
Forchin, this is a massive relief. Though he didn't test positive for
marijuana once during his probation, he said there was no way he was
going to stop smoking the "sacrament." And because of that, he said he
figured he'd ultimately pay for it. The appellate process is an uphill
battle as it is, but coordinating it from behind bars would have
severely complicated matters.

ED FORCHION

By Ed Forchion

<>

Dissent, once an ideal cherished in the First Amendment, now
invites media attacks, hate Web sites, threats, job loss, and even the
changing of one child's name.

Across the United States, hundreds of Americans have been
arrested for protesting the Iraq war. The American Civil Liberties
Union has documented allegations of wrongful arrest and police
brutality from demonstrators at antiwar rallies in Washington and New
York. Even Howard Stern has been virtually muffled, but none has been
more directly persecuted than I have. The saying that everyone agrees
with the concept and principles of free speech until you exercise that
right by saying something they don't like applies even to New Jersey's
judges.

Judges, of all people, should be aware of the right to free
speech. What I say publicly is: The drug war is racist; legalize
marijuana; abortion is murder; legalize prostitution; our war in Iraq
is illegal; and I don't believe the government version of 9/11.

What
New Jersey judges consistently do to me for saying such things is
punish me and hide behind judicial immunity. The most recent example of
this is the granting of a petition by Judge John Sweeney to change my
child's surname from mine to my exfiancée's surname. The
petition by the child's mother only cited my public political views in
regards to legalizing marijuana as the reason.

She claimed my child may suffer some sort of negativity
because of my political views. I opposed this motion in court in May.
Millions of people say the same thing, millions of people believe it
should be legal and, regardless of the illegality of it, millions use
if for a variety of reasons, including me. This issue of marijuana's
legalization is a nationwide political debate that many politicians and
even some judges agree with. I have every right to enter this debate
without fear that my children will be renamed.

Yet, the judge granted the petition. Just think about the
implications of this. For expressing a particular political view, I was
punished by having my child's name changed. I was proud to name my
child after me. All of my children are named after me, and I'm a part
of all of my children's lives.

I did not think the petition would be approved. I never heard
of a "pro-abortion activist" having his child's name changed. My ex
believes in abortion rights, so could I now petition to have my child's
name changed because of that? Who do you think is the worse person to
be named after, a person who supports the killing of an unborn baby, or
a proud pothead?

I never heard of a politician who supported gay rights having
something like this done to him. Imagine Gov. McGreevey and Mrs.
McGreevey divorcing and a judge changing his kid's name based on his
public political views: He is gay, supports same-sex unions, and is a
Democrat. Imagine a Republican woman petitioning a judge to change her
child's name because her ex-husband is a Democrat. The implications and
disastrous precedent of the decision are outrageously un-America.

TRENTON
- (June 3rd, 2004)
An appeals court yesterday upheld the conviction of
marijuana-legalization activist Ed "njweedman"
Forchion, who was sentenced to 10
years in prison in 2000 for possession of marijuana he planned to sell.

Forchion was charged with helping his
brother and another man pick up a shipment of 40 pounds of marijuana at
BellmawrIndustrial
Park in Bellmawr, CamdenCounty, in No-vember 1997. The marijuana had been shipped from
a supplier in Arizona
via Federal Express.

The PembertonTownship
resident was tried on charges of distributing marijuana and possession
of marijuana with intent to distribute in September 2000. He pleaded
guilty to those charges and two unrelated charges during the trial.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December 2000 and served 16
months before he was released and admitted to a supervisory program.

Although Forchion pleaded guilty, he later
appealed his conviction. He contended the drug laws to which he pleaded
guilty were unconstitutional and the judge who presided over his trial
refused to allow him to argue that use of marijuana for medical or
religious purposes should be permitted.

Forchion has long maintained his
First Amendment rights are being violated because he cannot freely
practice his faith as a Rastafarian or state his beliefs.

The judge also refused to allow Forchion
to propose to the jury the concept of jury nullification, the process
of permitting a jury to acquit a defendant because it feels the law he
is accused of breaking is unjust.

Forchion, who acted as his own
attorney at his trial, also contended he was denied effective
assistance of counsel because the public defender who was assigned to
assist him refused to argue those issues on his behalf.

Forchion faces other charges related
to the marijuana conviction. He was indicted in Janu-ary
for refusing to submit a DNA sample, required under a new state law of
all state prisoners and parolees.

Forchion has challenged the
constitutionality of the law in federal court, contending it is an
after-the-fact form of punishment and an illegal invasion of his
privacy.

If convicted, he faces 18 months in prison.

______________

You can read the actual appeal here

(CLICK)

This decison
by the New
Jersey
appellate court was a decision to protect the NJ DRUG
LAWS NOT THE CONSTITUTION, say's weedman!
My appeal
was clearly about the Governments violations of my RIGHTS to a fair
trial and
Justice. These Judge's decided to protect
the state's
drug laws instead of the Constitutional protections they are supposed
to
uphold! This decision was constitutionally BOGUS!"

Forchion maintains he wants to change
his name to promote his advocacy for reform of marijuana laws, not to
encourage the sale or use of marijuana, as the Camden County
Prosecutor's Office contends.

The PembertonTownship
resident also hoped to use the njweedman.com name in the fall during
his third-party campaign to challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton, R-3rd of MountHolly.

Forchion's request was denied in
March by a Superior Court judge in CamdenCounty, who ruled Forchion advocates breaking marijuana laws and
could use his name to sell the drug.

The appeals court agreed, saying Forchion
advocates law breaking and his advocacy encourages others to possess
and use marijuana.

"He admits, at the very least, to smoking marijuana as well as to
purchasing it for himself, and on a few occasions for others as well,"
the three-judge panel wrote in its nine-page decision. "One cannot
smoke marijuana without possessing it, and purchasing for another is a
form of distribution."

Forchion said yesterday he plans to
appeal the decision.

"I haven't sold weed in years," Forchion
said. "I can't get away from the fact that I used to. I just want to
ex-press my political views by saying marijuana should be legal."

Email: mmathis@phillyBurbs.com

THE TRENTONIAN

By,
Trymaine Lee 3/29/2004

(Camden - NJ) Ed Forchion has been unofficially denied the right
to legally change his name to NJWEEDMAN.COM.

Superior Court Judge John A. Fratto denied
the Browns Mills man's request Friday. Ogfficials
from the camdenCounty Prosecutors
Office said the name was denied because it would allow the Rastafarian
activist to "promote an illegal activity."

Forchion contended yesterday that an
appellate court document sent to him, which states the Superior Court
must grant him a hearing on the name change case, name themselves as the final word in the matter, not
Judge Fratto.

Court authorities were unable to be reached last night for comment. Forchion was placed in an early-release program
in April 2002, following 16 months of a 10 year prison bid for possesion of marijuana with the intent to
distribute.

Since his release, Forchion has been a
crusader for the cause of marijuana legalization.

"The name change is not for me to promote selling drugs," Forchion said.

"It's for me to promote my website which voices the need for us to
protect our freedom of speech and the problems with America's war on
drugs."

JUDGE: MAN NOT ALLOWED TO CHANGE NAME TO NJWEEDMAN COM

3/27/2004

CAMDEN, N.J. - A self-styled marijuana activist will not be
allowed to change his name to NJWeedman
com.

The name change for Edward Forchion was
nixed Friday by Superior Court Judge John A. Fratto.

A spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said the ruling
came after prosecutors argued the name change would "promote an illegal
activity."

Forchion was placed in an
early-release program in April 2002 after serving 16 months of a
10-year prison term for possession of marijuana with the intent to
distribute.

He subsequently was jailed for five months by authorities who said he
violated the program by filming public service announcements pressing
for changes to New Jersey's laws and advocating legalizing marijuana.

When he was released from jail in January 2003, Forchion
was returned to the early-release program but barred by a judge from
promoting illegal use of marijuana after his release.

Forchion, who refers to himself as
"NJ Weedman," has said he used marijuana
because of his religious beliefs and for medical reasons.

He has made three bids for a seat in Congress, losing twice and
quitting one race after being indicted on drug charges.

The other day, his multifaceted campaign to legalize marijuana took the
laid-back, one-time Army medic to the sidewalk in front of a strip mall
with a clipboard.

He asked passers-by to sign a petition to put him on the ballot for a
November Congressional election and he found plenty of supporters.

"I have Lyme's disease and I think it
helps me," said one 25-year-old Burlington City woman who didn't want
her name published.

"I hope you can use the medicine of your choice," responded Forchion, who has been supporting himself on odd
construction and web site design jobs since he was laid off last
December as a window-washer. One way he doesn't raise money, he says,
is selling marijuana.

Though he intends to appear on the November ballot as a candidate of
the U.S. Marijuana Party and campaigns wearing a T-shirt with an image
of a marijuana leaf, Forchion would rather
not be called a marijuana activist. He prefers First Amendment activist
(he says marijuana use is part of his Rastafarian faith and that he's
been persecuted for exercising free speech) or, especially, dissident.

Forchion, a former cross-country
trucker, has run for a seat on the state Assembly, Camden County
freeholder twice, Burlington County
freeholder once and is making his third run for Congress. This time
he's challenging Republican incumbent H. James Saxton, who probably
does not ask citizens, as Forchion does,
to "throw me a vote in November."

When Forchion first ran for office, he had
his name listed on the ballot as Edward "Rob" Forchion.

It later struck to him that it might help with name recognition if the
ballot said Edward "Weedman" Forchion. Election officials told him: They'd do
it only if his name was legally changed to Weedman.
Thus began the battle to become NJWeedman.com, also the name of his web
site in the eyes of the law.

"You're like the weed dude, ain't you,"
proclaimed James Blackston, 45, of Mount
Holly, as he came upon Forchion. "Dang!"

Others approached him with reefer confessions: "Just so you know, I
smoke too," one woman said. A man lamented that he's cut back since his
employer began random drug tests. One woman told Weedman
she had no such concerns; her boss sells her marijuana. Another said
she supported his platform and added that she was looking for "stress
relief."

That happens all the time, Forchion said.

"I'm the Weedman. I'm everybody's buddy,"
he explained. "I'm not the coke man or the heroin man."

Petitions in hand, Forchion walked off
toward the courthouse in Mount Holly. He was going there, ironically,
to fight for his name.

His ex-girlfriend wants
to change their 9-year-old daughter's last name.

NJWEEDMAN &
PAT DUFF
engage in another Smoke-out Demonstration
at the Liberty Bell

CLICK PICTURE ABOVE TO SEE POT-TV
SHOW OF THIS 3/20/2004 EVENT

Click here to see PAT explain
our protest of 3/20/2004

March 20th, 2004

LATEST NJWEEDMAN UPDATE
(March 10th, 2004)

By BONG,
Bill Oscar N. Goodweed
POTHEAD REPORTER

BROWNS MILLS, NJ - The string of
courtroom victories in the last year by Ed "NJWeedman"
Forchion ended last Monday (March 1st, 2004)
when a judge ruled that he cannot recover damages for having been
wrongfully imprisoned for advocating the legalization of marijuana
while in the Intensive Supervision Program. (SEE: CENSORED and JAILED)

U.S. District Judge Joseph Irenas, who
released Forchion from jail in January 03 (read decision
and SEE: INJUNCTION GRANTED )
ruled this week that it was an unconstitutional infringement of
the jailhouse lawyer's free speech when ISP officers arrested him on
August 19th, 2002. But then Irenas found
that the state officials had qualified immunity from suit because there
was no clear prohibition on arresting those serving out drug
convictions on ISP if they advocate drug law reform. Which absolutely doesn't make sense, who doesn't
understand free speech!

Previously this year, Forchion bested the
Camden County Prosecutor's Office when the Appellate Division ruled
that Forchion might be able to change his
name to "NJWeedman.com." ( SEE: NAMECHANGE -CASE
), that case will now be heard in camden
County Superior Court before Judge FRATTO on March 26th, 2004 (9am).

And the U.S. Attorney's Office has quietly let drop charges that Forchion was creating a disturbance outside Newark's
federal building in a pro-pot protest. (SEE: HYPOCRITE-CASE)

Lastly, with Forchion now a free man, his
federal challenge against ISP for attempting to obtain his DNA is moot.
However, as the state -- in theory -- still wants a sample from every
convicted felon, one does not need a crystal bong to predict that the
chances of Forchion re-raising the issue
against the attorney general in the future are good. State officials
are now pursuing criminal contemp charges
in Camden County Superior Court for Forchions
refusal to provide DNA when ordered in 2003. Instead he wrote a letter
to Gov McGreevy telling him to "kiss my ass and retreive
it from your lips"! The next hearing for this DNA case will be on
May13th, 2004.

One question everyone has is will he be attending from home or a
Federal jail cell for his monthly demonstrations at the LIBERTY BELL ? The Demonstartion
is scheduled for March 20th,
2004 ( March 20th
)

On Dec. 20th, 2004 (3pm-4:30pm), New Jersey
activists and Pennslyvania activist will
join
together at the LIBERTYBELL
and hold a duel protest demonstration. Persons of all denominations
will be
invited to pray for the END of the "WAR on DRUGS" (free prisoners)
and the END of the "WAR on IRAQ" (bring our troops home). --"PRAYER BEGINS AT 4:20pm!"

Marijuana activist
pledges more protests

Plans Dec. 6th,
liberty bell smoke-out

JohnReitmeyerBurlingtonCounty Times11-21-2003

MOUNT HOLLY -
Marijuana legalization advocate Ed Forchion
is getting ready to complete a 20-month parole term for drug
possession, but don't expect the self-described "nj-weedman"
to keep quiet once that term is done.

To celebrate the end of his parole, Forchion said he plans to go to the Liberty Bell
in Philadelphia on Dec. 6th, when the parole term
ends. He said he will smoke marijuana with other activists in front of
the national symbol of freedom as "a patriotic thing" and a religious
demonstration.

Forchion says he practices the Rastafarian
religion and contends he uses marijuana for religious ritual. He
believes a federal court ruling protects his right to use marijuana for
religious purposes on federal property, such as the grounds surrounding
the Liberty Bell.

Forchion, who lives in PembertonTownship, learned yesterday that he is
scheduled for release from the state's Intensive Supervision Program on
Dec. 3. He has been enrolled in the parole program since early last
year in connection with an October 2000 conviction for possessing 40
pounds of marijuana.

The program calls for mandatory urine
tests and other restrictions

Forchion met with the program's resentencing panel yesterday for a review
hearing, and the board informed him that his term would end Dec. 3.

Forchion served more than a year of a 10-year
state prison term before being released from prison in April 2002. He
was then enrolled in the parole program for a 20-month term.

If he violates the terms of the program
before Dec. 3, he will have to return to prison.

Forchion is no stranger to demonstrations at
government sites. He has been arrested for smoking marijuana inside the
New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton and in front of the BurlingtonCountyAdministrationBuilding in MountHolly.

He said he has more than one intention
for his Dec. 6t visit to the Liberty Bell. While there, he will also
officially launch a 2004 run for the U.S. House of Representatives in
the 3rd District, which is currently represented by Republican Jim
Saxton of MountHolly.

Forchion has run unsuccessfully for federal,
state and county offices several times using a marijuana-legalization
platform. This time, Forchion said, he
will run for the first time as a member of the U.S. Marijuana Party.

The first time self-described
marijuana-legalization spokesperson Patrick Duff smoked weed, he was an
11-year-old kid in Delran, N.J. "I was a very adventurous young man,"
says Duff, who, when he didn’t get high that first time, wondered what
all the hype was about.

He
couldn't have known that he and Mary Jane would have such an enduring,
committed relationship.

Sixteen
years later, Duff found himself hosting Open Minds, an hourlong weekly program on New World Radio 1540
AM. For an eight-week, buy-your-own-airtime stint that began in
October, Duff -- along with a ganja-themed local hip-hop act, Herbillest -- provided a local forum for
legalization activists to state their case to Philadelphians.

Unlike
other shows with similar themes, Duff says that he "wasn't going to go
on there and be irate and get real crazy about the situation, [but]
actually find people who could solve the problem." Past guests include
Cannabis Hall of Fame inductee and author of The Emperor Wears No
Clothes Jack Herer, Vancouver's "Prince of Pot," Marc Emery, and our very own
"NJ Weedman," Ed Forchion.

Duff
just couldn't keep the topic on weed the whole time, though, and took
on cell phone giant Nextel Communications when his i90 cell gave out.
He says he trusted that his $4.95-a-month manufacturer's insurance
policy, along with a $35 deductible, would guarantee a new replacement.
But as he went through three replacements in six months, he read the
fine print and found that Nextel reserved the right to replace broken
phones with "refurbished" ones.

Duff,
who felt like he was getting hustled, demanded the company tell consumers new phones weren't an option and that
all phones were used. He then challenged a Nextel rep to defend the
company's policies on the air. Nextel responded by calling his station
and apparently convincing the general manager to do some in-house
censorship. In a letter from the station, Duff was threatened with
being "immediately canceled" should he "even breathe the name Nextel."

Chris
Doherty, Nextel's senior director of public affairs, admits they called
but says they didn't threaten the station with a libel suit. According
to Doherty, the company's main concern was preventing an irate Duff
from publicly making slanderous comments. Doherty claims that during a
phone exchange, Duff drew a parallel between Nextel's actions and the
Columbine massacre. He feared similar comments might be expressed on
the airwaves. New World GM Sam Speiser had
no comment.

Though
his show's off the air, Duff is considering buying more New World time slots. Duff's next move will be his most
ambitious yet -- assuming it works. To celebrate the end of the NJ Weedman's drug-possession parole, he's helping
the local counterculture celebrity organize a smokeout
at the Liberty Bell.

Originally
scheduled for Dec. 6 -- it was canceled due to snow -- the smokeout is slated to be held this Saturday.
Unlike past smokeouts, where everyone
quits smoking cigarettes, this will be more of a "smoke-in," where
everyone present will celebrate "with the sacrament of marijuana," Duff
says.

The
rally is slated to begin at 3 p.m. and last until 5 p.m., with the "sacrament" to be lit at precisely 4:20 p.m. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.) According to Duff,
invitations went out to Woody Harrelson, Ashton Kutcher,
Al Gore and Bill Clinton.

"People
aren't going to be able to stop us. There's going to be hundreds and
hundreds of us," says Duff, who's confident that the event will be an
unprecedented success despite ramped-up security around national
monuments since the 9/11 attacks. Holding the event on federal property
is by design, since participants -- arrested participants,
hypothetically -- could seek protection from prosecution under
religious-freedom claims. (Forchion, who
got pinched with 40 pounds, is a Rastafarian who says court rulings
have defended his right to smoke weed during religious rituals.) The
location also keeps the Philadelphia Police Department out of the mix,
as Independence Mall lies under the National Park Service's purview.

As of
earlier this week, Park Service spokesperson Phil Sheridan said he
hadn't heard about the planned protest, so no responses were available.

"There
are areas designated for exercising your First Amendment rights," says Sheridan, "but you cannot break the law [to do so]."

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Marijuana activist
uses act of defiance to launch campaign

12/24/2003

Newly off probation, Ed Forchion of Browns Mills announced a bid for the
U.S. House, then lit up.

By Sam Wood,Inquirer
Staff Writer

Call it a joint announcement.

A South Jersey advocate for the liberalization of
marijuana laws declared his candidacy for the U.S. House at IndependenceNationalHistoricalPark by - how else? - lighting
up a marijuana cigarette.

Not that he got a chance to smoke it.

After just a few tokes Saturday
afternoon, a phalanx of 17 park rangers surrounded Ed Forchion, also known as NJ Weedman.

The rangers confiscated the candidate's
joint, and Forchion, 44, was issued a $150
ticket for possession of a controlled substance.

Minutes before, while standing between
Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Pavilion, Forchion
said he intended to run as the U.S. Marijuana Party's candidate for the
seat held by Republican Jim Saxton in New Jersey's Third Congressional District.

The district extends across Burlington and OceanCounties and includes a few neighborhoods in CamdenCounty.

Also cited shortly after 4:20 p.m. was Pat Duff, 27, who said he intended
to run as the Marijuana Party's candidate for Philadelphia City Council
in 2007. The self-described "renegade car salesman" said he would run
on a platform encouraging the opening of cannabis cafes across the
city.

About 50 supporters, many with video
cameras and shivering against the wind, had gathered to watch Forchion and Duff ceremoniously light up.

The time and setting had been chosen
with Karl Rove-ian precision. "Four-20" is
stoner slang for smoking marijuana. The park had the benefit of being
federal property, outside the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia Police
Department.

"We're peaceful, patriotic potheads,"
the soft-spoken Forchion said. "We had
meant to do this on Dec. 6, but it snowed and ruined what we'd thought
was going to be a big turnout."

On Dec. 3, Forchion
completed 20 months of probation in CamdenCounty for pleading guilty to possessing five
pounds of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

"I'm happy," he said of putting
probation behind him, "I can run for office again."

Forchion, of Browns Mills, has run for BurlingtonCounty freeholder and for the First District
seat in the U.S. House on the Legalize Marijuana ticket.

A Rastafarian, Forchion
has said he smoked marijuana for religious reasons, to relieve back
pain, and to help him deal with chronic depression. The former
cross-country truck driver has been an advocate of legalizing marijuana
since the mid-1990s.

His high jinks have been celebrated in
what is left of the counterculture. Among his stunts: lighting up in
the New Jersey Assembly while wearing a black-and-white-striped
prisoner's costume.

Saturday's announcement was intended to
make a more sober point, he said, adding that he intended to challenge
the rangers' citations in court.

"This is all about a First Amendment
issue," Forchion said. "Freedom of
religion allows for the religious use of marijuana on federal property.
I'm just exercising that right."